CHANGWON, South Korea (September 2, 2018)
Competition at the 52nd International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championship in Changwon, South Korea officially got underway today with medals awarded in Junior Men’s Free Pistol, Mixed Air Rifle and Mixed Air Pistol Team events, as well as the start of the Men’s and Junior Women’s Trap events.
Though the U.S. ends the first day with no medals, there is a lot to be excited about in tomorrow’s action. The competition kicked off with the Mixed Air Rifle Team competition. The top finishing team for the United States was comprised of Mindy Miles (pictured above) and 2016 Olympian Lucas Kozeniesky, who finished in 18th place with a combined score of 832.5. Miles (Weatherford, Texas) shot a world-class score of 420.6 in the 40-shot course of fire. The team of Sarah Beard (Danville, Indiana) and Dempster Christenson (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) finished in 45th place with a combined score of 825.2. The individual Men’s and Women’s Air Rifle competitions will be contested tomorrow with Finals later in the day.
The other standout performance of the day goes to 2008 Olympic gold medalist Glenn Eller (pictured above), who leads after Day One of Two in the Men’s Trap competition. In changing weather conditions throughout the day – including a light fog and rain that rolled in during the afternoon – Eller (Katy, Texas/U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit) shot a perfect 75/75 targets. Grayson Davey (17, Anchorage, Alaska) sits in 15th place with 72 targets and Jake Wallace (Castaic, California) sits in 81st place with 68 targets.
Lots of promise is showing in the Junior Women’s Trap ranks as well as Emma Williams (Savannah, Tennessee) sits in fifth place after the first day with 69/75. The youngest U.S. shotgun athlete on the team – 13-year-old Carey Garrison (Crossville, Tennessee) – sits in 16th place with 65 targets and Madelynn Bernau (Waterford, Wisconsin), who is competing in her first international competition, sits in 24th place with 60 targets.
The Men and Junior Women Trap competitors will shoot an additional 50 targets tomorrow with Finals later in the day.
Junior Men’s Free Pistol also took place today with Sam Gens (Andover, Massachusetts) coming away with the top finish for the U.S. in 26th place (526). Gens’ Ohio State teammate, Bernard Melus, Jr. (Lake Zurich, Illinois), finished in 30th place with a score of 502. Paul Kang (Los Angeles, California) finished in 31st place with a score of 501.
The competition concluded today with the Mixed Air Pistol Team event. The top-finishing team for the United States was Alexis Lagan (Boulder City, Nevada) and 2012 Olympian Nick Mowrer (Butte, Montana), who finished in 16th place with a combined score of 763. The team of 2012 Olympian Sandra Uptagrafft (Phenix City, Alabama) and James Hall (Anniston, Alabama) finished in 45th place with a combined score of 752.
The 52nd ISSF World Championship runs through September 15. More than 1,800 athletes from 91 countries have gathered in Changwon to compete in the 15 Olympic Shooting events, as well as 51 non-Olympic events across five disciplines.
Check out the complete World Champs U.S. Team preview in the latest edition of USA Shooting News: http://www.usashooting.org/news/usasnew ... index.html.
Complete results: https://www.issf-sports.org/competition ... hipid=1750.
Complete schedule of the ISSF World Championship (Changwon is 13 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone): http://www.issf-sports.org/media/calend ... ith_VC.pdf.
Be sure to follow the team online throughout the World Championship:
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USA Shooting Team Event HASHTAG: #USASWCH18
For event pictures, go to USA Shooting’s Flickr site